Betrayal
by uncomplicatedButterFLY
Summary: Her world has been turned upside down. Her heart has been torn to shreds and now she must face the people who did this to her. This is a story of love, lost and betrayal of the worst kind. READ & REVIEW! No longer a one-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Betrayal, shock and anger coursed through me. Anger was making my heart pump faster and louder than normal. The shock I I felt had stolen the breath from my lungs. But the betrayal was the worst. It hurt me so much more than anything in the world.

She'd lied to me. She told me she didn't want him. She said nothing would ever happen between them.

There was no warning. There was no way to hide from the ugly truth. She lied straight to my face. No other way to see it. She had purely and simply gone behind my back and taken the thing I had ever been passionate about. Her dirty little hands greedily stole him away from me. There was no turning back.

Our friendship was over.

I didn't know whether I'd be able to trust her again or if I wanted to.

I didn't know how to react. I couldn't move. My whole world had been shaken and I was rendered speechless. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many. Yet somehow not a single word passed my lips.

They continue to laugh and joke around me. Not a single one them noticing how my world had been shattered or my heart broken; not a single one of them. Their joyous laughter continues to add insult to my already broken heart. Their glorious smiles burning images in my brain of happy times I would no longer be a part of.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I promised myself that I would not shed a single tear. I would not let her see how deep her actions had cut me. No way were they going to see just how broken I was.

Her too innocent grin begs to be smacked off her face. My hand itches with the thought of being the one to do so. But she was no longer worth the effort or time. She was nothing to me.

I get up and walk away. Their laughs and jokes come to a sudden stop. Her smile falters and she directs hher gaze towards her shoes.

_Coward._

I continue to make my way to the door. I can already feel the salty tears well up in my eyes. My throat begins to burn and I want to do nothing but scream. I want to yell and shout every profanity I know. I want to run away as far as my legs will take me. I want to forget I ever met them.

Alice Brandon no longer the name of my best friend.

Edward Cullen no longer the center of my universe.

_They were as good as dead to me._


	2. Chapter 2

December 2008

"Alice! Where the hell are you? You're already an hour late. We're all here waiting for you." I yelled into my phone.

"Be-lla, I can't find my car keys. I was _sure _I put them on my nightstand but they're not there anymore. My dad's gonna freak. They were like my fourth set this month," Alice whined.

How someone could lose that many keys in such a short time was a complete mystery to me. Alice wasn't exactly Captain Responsible but this was bad even for her. And replacing keys for a Porsche was apparently not as cheap as you might think. Her dad had thrown a fit last time; he even took away the _new _keys for a month. Alice had never been so angry at him. As her best friend it was my obligation to take her side even though I thought her punishment was more than befitting.

"Alice, are you sure they're not just in your room? Maybe they're in one of your coat pockets."

Why did Alice have to lose her keys now of all times!

Everyone had finally been able to get away from holiday plans and just get together.

We'd been at Starbucks for almost 2 hours. Not even the free Wi-Fi could possibly keep a bunch of teenagers entertained for long. Everyone was getting annoyed and bored. I was silently cursing Alice for her bad timing.

"Bella, I really can't find them. Maybe you guys should just go ahead. I'll just get a taxi and meet you after." Alice said.

I knew Alice. She wouldn't take a taxi unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Alice do you want me to come get you?" I finally say in defeat.

I really wanted to stay but I knew Alice needed me. On some days I questioned whether I was her friend, her mother or her PA. Being Alice's best friend sometimes required that you be all three at once. But I loved Alice, and I knew that if the tables were turned that she would do the same for me. Alice was a loyal and committed friend. She would never do anything to hurt me; at least not intentionally.

"Will you, Bella? Then maybe we can look for my keys. Or we could just spend the night in. I wasn't really up for the whole group date thing anyway."

Of course she wouldn't want to come out and do the _group date thing. _

Jasper was with us.

He was once Alice's long time crush and wasn't too bad on the eyes.

Jasper was a blonde haired and blue-eyed angel sent to live among the mere mortals of Forks when he and his family had moved here from Texas in the third grade. His mama had taught him to be the perfect gentleman and his rugged good-looks and southern accent were quite popular with the ladies of Forks High School. He was fairly tall with a lean build.

The boy couldn't get any yummier unless he'd been dipped in chocolate.

Alice had obsessed over him for almost 4 years. His complete obliviousness to her existence had finally made her snap and in the end she'd realized that he just wasn't worth the time or effort anymore. At long last she moved on. I guess when Alice really puts her mind to it, she could accomplish anything.

Too bad she didn't feel compelled to do the same for her schoolwork.

If Alice hadn't been so ass over ears for the guy, I wouldn't have minded being his cowgirl.

It was a pity really because Alice was gorgeous. She was short but had the build and grace of a dancer. Her deep set grey eyes complimented her ivory skin and short jet black hair very well. She was cute and almost pixie-like. She was the type of girl that guys felt that they needed to protect because she was so tiny.

If I was a guy, I would totally be hot for Alice.

Compared to Alice's otherworldly beauty, I usually looked washed out and a bit of an albino. My long dark hair and brown eyes weren't very remarkable either. They didn't do much for my color either, or lack thereof.

There really wasn't anything that set me apart from other girls or made me stand out. I was about as Plain Jane as they come.

I was short but not cute-short the way Alice was. I wasn't blonde; I didn't have long legs or drive a Mercedes. I didn't even have any pigment in my skin. You couldn't even call me pale because that would mean you had some color to begin with. I looked like a fully-fledged albino. If my hair wasn't so dark I would probably pass as one.

Back in the days before I met Alice I always managed to fit in the background. I was a wallflower. There were days I was surprised that people didn't walk into me.

Before Alice I was invisible – then she brought me out of my shell and suddenly it was okay not to be part of the scenery. Alice made high school bearable and not such a pain in the rear; and for that I was eternally grateful.

"Okay, I'll be there in like 15 minutes." I hurriedly say into my phone.

I get up from seat and begin to make my way to the door when I'm stopped by a hand around my wrist. I turn around to find Mike looking like I'd just run over his cat.

"Bella, where are you going? I thought we were just waiting for Alice?" Mike said.

I liked my Mike and he liked me. But I didn't like him the way he wanted me to. He was a friend to me and nothing more. This kind of complicated the group dynamics because while Mike liked me, Jessica liked him and I sort of liked Edward; who I think might actually be asexual.

Edward was GQ-cover-worthy.

He had a full head of the most startling color of coppery-bronze hair and emerald green eyes that were so beautiful it actually hurt. He had a jaw that looked like it had been chiseld out of marble. The shock or copper hair that sat upon his perfect hair was always tastefully disheveled like he'd just run his long graceful fingers tthrough them. His emerald gaze was intense, unusual for an 18 year old boy. Sometimes the way he looked at even the simplest of objects made you wish that you could see the world the way he did. To be able to appreciate even the little things like he seemed to.

He was amazingly good-looking, intelligent, athletic and on top of that; a musical prodigy.

Truthfully though, I was more fascinated than infatuated with him.

It was silly really, the teachers at school only ever had two reactions to him;

One, they gloated about having him in their class and worshipped the ground he walked on.

Or

Two, they absolutely hated him and the fact that they had to change their whole lesson plans just to keep him entertained.

He was quiet and when he did speak it was usually no more than one or two syllables. I'd been his lab partner for biology since the beginning of the year but day after stinking day he continued to sit silently in his seat rarely ever making a sound. It was so frustrating. He had the ability to speak he just chose not to.

Even the way he moved was silent.

While working together we would get by with understanding nods or yes and no answers. From a bystander, the way we operated would have probably looked quite comical.

Some would call him anti-social or arrogant, I thought he was lonely.

Edward had transferred from some east coast prep school at the beginning of the year because his dad had taken a job at the hospital.

Apparently the good doctor was just as handsome as his son because the nurses haven't been able to stop talking about him since his arrival. Doctor Cullen this, Doctor Cullen that.

I'm practically a VIP at the hospital. I've spent more days there than any of the 3, 192 people who live in the small town of Forks however I've yet to see this legendary doctor who no one can seem to stop fussing about.

Everyone had been so excited to meet Edward when he'd first arrived but the excitement was swiftly replaced with immense displeasure and irritation. His novelty had worn away quite quickly.

During his first few days of school everyone waited for him to ask if he could seat with them in the cafeteria or ask where a classroom was. But he never did. He'd arrived to every one of his classes on time, sat on his own during lunch and read books as thick as my head.

I see him in the library regularly, sitting in a corner probably reading about Einstein's theory of Relativity or a Biography on the life and works of Mozart. Again, he was always on his own. I'd been tempted so many times to ask if I could join him but always lost the nerve at the last moment. These were the times that I wish I had Alice's confidence. I couldn't even form coherent sentences around the guy.

He was probably wondering why they'd let a special kid in the AP biology class. I also had AP English with him but thankfully he sat as far away from me as possible. Maybe it was a coincidence but I was pretty sure it was because he'd had enough of me in biology.

Two weeks after his arrival at our quaint little school, Edward surprised everyone by joining the school's soccer team.

And he was good, very good. After 3 games, Coach Clapp made him the school's star forward. He's been the team's top scorer 5 months running.

Yet he still sat on his own and read his books in peace. Not even his fellow team mates or the cheerleaders seemed to be able to change his ways. In a way it made me like him that much more.

He didn't feel the need to be part of the herd. He was not a sheep.

"Mike, I'm sorry but I really have to go. Alice needs me right now." I tell him quickly.

He removed his hand from my wrist and the I-just-ran-over-his-cat-look appeared again.

"Oh. I should let you go then."

"Thanks, Mike. Listen, maybe next week we could all get to together again."

I made sure to mention that I meant everyone. Not just him and me.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, umm..do you need a ride."

This guy just didn't know when to quit.

"No, it's okay. I'm sure my truck can handle it. I really have to go now though. So I'll see you at school okay?"

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and made a mad dash for the door. I didn't want to spend more time talking to him. I could already feel the accusatory glares coming from Jessica's direction.

-x-

"See Bella, isn't this more fun than hanging out with Jessica and Lauren? I know you hate those two." Alice said in between sips of her hot chocolate.

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't hate Jess or Lauren. I just don't like them. Lauren's a backstabbing bitch and Jessica has the biggest mouth in the Northern Hemisphere. I'm surprised she still has the energy to chew her food during lunch after all the gossiping she does. "

Alice laughed at this. Her laughter sounded like tinkling bells, so very graceful and elegant. I felt a pang of jealousy because every time I laughed it sounded like Chewbacca getting a brazillian.

"Bella, when did you get so feisty?" Alice giggled, "Who knew you had it in you to have mean streak."

For some reason this rubbed me the wrong way.

It was like she thought I was some poor defenseless lamb who couldn't stand up for herself. Like I was some walk-over that no one gave two shits about.

Well, Bella Swan is not a walkover. Not anymore at least.

"I can stand up for myself Alice. I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me," I snapped at her.

She looked bewildered; I didn't think she'd been expecting such a response from me.

Alice looked at me like I'd begun sprouting toes from my forehead. Then she looked hurt. I didn't even mean to sound so snappy. I just didn't like people thinking that I was some pushover they could walk all over.

I was a real person with real feelings.

"Bella, I'm sorry if I offended you. I just meant that between the two of us you'd always been the nicer one. I really am sorry," Alice pleaded.

The moment her lips began to quiver and her big grey eyes water, I knew I was a goner. She was giving me the puppy dog look. It was a look that not even Satan himself could deny.

I opened my arms and she tightened her little arms around me and squeezed so hard that I thought I'd heard one of my ribs crack.

Maybe it was my left lung deflating.


End file.
